When I first got my new x86-64 machine back in late April I decided to run Ubuntu Linux on it. It worked quite well, but I found that updates (especially critical updates like Firefox security patches) were slow in coming. As I run Fedora Core on my server, I ended up switching to that on my desktop as well. But, I have switched back. Click “Read More” to find out why.
One of my closest friends needed a new machine recently, and after I convinced him it would be a poor time to buy a new Mac if he could avoid it (as x86 Macs are around the corner) he opted for an x86-64 machine that dual boots Linux and WinXP. He decided he wanted to try CentOS, the free variant of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. A couple weeks ago I piled myself and a bunch of tools and CDs into the car and headed south to Ashland, OR.
Now, one thing that worked well for me in Ubuntu and has been nothing but a PITA in Fedora is AppleTalk printing. Like me, my friend has an AppleTalk laser printer. I spent (no joke) 6 hours trying to get CentOS to print to the thing. Getting Netatalk working on Red Hat variants is like pulling teeth. It was beyond frustrating.
I eventually installed Ubuntu for him and after re-reading Netatalk docs and sorting through which PAP backend I had actually worked, he could print. It felt … glorious … after the RH debacle.
When I got home last week I rsynced my home directory to a backup drive and installed the i386 variant of Ubuntu (as there is currently no Flash plugin or Sun Java plugin for x86-64). Installation went smoothly, and setting up my AppleTalk printer took … ready? … 2.5 minutes. Two and a half minutes. 150 seconds. Beats the crap out of six hours and no printing.
I’m not knocking Red Hat. They make a great product. But I think their interest in the desktop is minimal. For desktop Linux, I’m now solidly an Ubuntu devotee. It Just Works.
In the interest in giving back to the community I wrote up a step-by-step how-to on AppleTalk on the Ubuntu wiki. If you need AppleTalk services on Linux, check it out.
And hey … Macromedia and Sun. How about x86-64 plugins for Linux folks? Huh? Come on …